Return to Berk
by ProbablyAwfulWriting
Summary: AU. After that first ride, Hiccup couldn't go back and face his father, so he didn't. He grabbed what few possessions he had and left it all behind. Ten years later he returns. Why now? What changed? Better question, what in the world could have changed him into what he is now? Title is a work in progress, I appreciate all ideas on the matter.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Salutations all, NoOne here with another story idea. I have quite a few ideas running around in my head at the moment and I have new plans for my other stories which I will reveal at a later date. I believe to be over the main part of my grief for the moment and this seemed like a good idea. I will be attempting to keep up multiple stories so any and all updates will be sporadic. Thank you all for being patient and I will hopefully be active once again. Here we go.**

 **EDIT: I have decided to change most of what this story is composed of. I also decided to change the point of view from first to third person, so that is a thing I'm trying out. Tell me how it turns out. Those of you who read it before I made this change will have major spoilers and for that, I am sorry. For the rest, I hope you enjoy.**

AVAVAVAVA

The flaming blade came down in a horrific arc causing the victim to be blinded before death. This was not the first man felled by this weapon that night, not even close. In fact, there was a trail of bodies lying behind the man wielding the sword that seemed to split the army in half.

The man, more of a boy really, who stepped in front of the figure seemed almost hesitant to do so, the look of terror on his face belaying his overwhelming want to turn and run away from the devil spawn in front of him. The only thing keeping him from doing just that was the mass of soldiers behind him pushing him forward. He didn't even have time to raise his oversized sword before he too fell.

A blue explosion deafens those around the figure, disorienting them and giving the man enough time to slay the last of those surrounding him. With one final cleave, he steps over the body of the last soldier that was in his way and casually walks to the line of tents that had previously been protected by the army. He needn't fear for his life, as the people he left behind were too occupied with the men who had filled the gap he had made.

He sent a silent thanks to the sky as he hopped over another line of charred bodies of what used to be the archers of his enemies. As he marches to the dark line of tents in front of him, he examines the land as it stood now. The last time he had seen the plains, it had been illuminated by the rays of the sun, emitting a peaceful feeling to all who gazed upon it. Now, illuminated by the blue fire and blinding moonlight, it looked sinister. The ground around the disjoined mass of soldiers and bodies is shining red, the ground bathed in it.

He honestly didn't know what either side was fighting for, nor did he care. The bloodshed meant little to him. The massacre behind him would haunt him for the rest of his life sure, but it wasn't the first time he had seen sights similar and at this point he was mostly desensitized to the horrors. Once he had what he came for, he would leave, never to know the outcome.

His objective was some poor fat bastard, General Bolates, a man that hadn't been in actual combat for years and was well past his prime. He was well hated by his men and was known as a cruel man by all, none understood that better than the lanky figure crossing the battlefield. He was at the first row of tents before the two archers standing guard beside the man took notice of him and began firing at him. Without pause, he pulled the longbow off of his and dispatched the men in less time than they had to fire arrows of his own.

The general realized the danger he was in and turned tail and ran. A grim smile came over the freckled face of the man, he loved a chase. He set off in a sprint, gaining quickly on the overweight man. It took seconds for him to overtake the man tackling and pinning him to the ground, turning him over so the man could gaze into the face of his soon to be killer.

The assassin leaning above him was something of nightmares. The previously white hood stained deep red cast his face completely in shadow, with the exception of two green orbs burning with absolute hatred. The rest of his outfit was covered in a combination of gore and soot, making any colors other than red indistinguishable. A sight like that would be enough to make any normal man piss himself. Too bad Bolates was a notorious coward, making a horrid smell rise into the air around the pair.

If the assassin was terror inducing, the bastard on the ground was his opposite. His chubby cheeks gave more of a cuddly vibe than that of a hardened veteran. His face was flushed red but his rudolph-esk nose gave away his years of heavy drinking. His dull brown eyes widened in fear.

There was a silent staring contest for two minutes before the general gathered enough courage to speak. His voice shook erratically and it was a couple octaves higher than it was the last time they had met. "Wh-wh-why are yo-you doing this." The assassin took a few moments to answer carefully crafting his response. When he did, he only spoke one word, a word that scared poor old Bolates more than any threat could. A memory surfaced, a memory of a young man with blazing emerald eyes atop a slick black dragon. He now realized who the man who stood above him was, and he now wished for a painless death, because he knew that he wasn't getting out of this alive.

Another staring contest occurred before the man above him spoke, his voice confident and powerful. "General Bolates, your time has come. I ask you now, before I kill you, if you have any words that you would like be let known." He gave the general a few seconds before he plunged the blade strapped to his wrist into his neck. He let out a strange whistle and that same black dragon swooped out of the sky and picked the man off of the ground, tossing the assassin onto his back.

As the general drowned in his own blood, Hiccup smiled.

AVAVAVAVA

 **A/N: Like previously stated, this was changed from it's original path, drastically. Yes there are elements from assassin's creed in here, obviously. Before I get some shit though, I will say that the fic that I did get that general idea from is fantastic you should check it out. The fic is called Nothing is True, Everything is permitted, please check it out. I like this direction much better and it came to me as I reread what I posted yesterday. For all of those who were excited for the direction that it was originally going in, sorry to disappoint. Let me know what you think tho. See you next time, NoOne.**


	2. Life on Berk

**A/N: Salutations all, NoOne. Still feeling this story right now, so here is another update. Here we go.**

 **Edit: flashbacks will be in italics, other languages will be underlined**

AVAVAVAVA

Most days, stepping out of one's house and onto the streets of Berk was stepping into a chaotic mess of sweating men and swearing women. The streets would be packed with people, shoving each other and generally raising hell. Now there was silence.

The mead hall has always been a companionable place that worked more as a bar than anything else, although most meals were served there as well. At any point in the day one could find a friend there, if not in people then in the mead that flowed endlessly. The candles that lit the interior cast a warm glow around the room, making it feel more like home than home usually did. Not a candle was lit or a person was found.

The kill ring has always had a symphony of clangs and clashes, playing the music of war without a formal conductor for days at a time. Sometimes, people would challenge each other to brawls for power or object and everyone would gather to watch, the music still playing still. Not a not emerged now, silence more bothersome than the noise ever was.

The docks have always been a place of nervous excitement and energy. It was a place for strange boats to dock with even stranger captains, bringing wares unimaginable and stories even more so. When familiar tribes or traders visited, laughter and shouting could be heard across the town. Cheerfulness was something all vikings attributed to boats and the sea, the docks an extension of that. Here is where the entirety of Berk was, standing on the peer gazing tearfully at the ocean in front of them.

Not a word was spoken as the funeral pyre drifted off farther into the sea, gloriously carrying the body of Stoick the Vast with it. One of the greatest warriors Berk had ever known drifting off into the gates of Valhalla, burning with the intensity of a thousand nadder fires.

No one was particularly surprised by his passing, few lived to be his age and that was without living the lifestyle they had chosen. The past two years had shown him to be sickly in his age and eventually, even mountains must fall. He had passed fitfully in his sleep, Astrid and Ruffnut the only ones allowed at his side. The shieldmaiden and healer had tended to him for days, hoping for improvement to find only condemnation at every corner.

Even though the heir to the tribe was the one to light the fire, everyone waited for those two to fire before following suit, neither had spoken a word since they had announced his death to the tribe. Astrid was never one to cry, not even when her parents died was a tear shed, but now they flowed freely down her face, mirroring her friends. Unlike most, Stoick had maintained mental stability throughout his death, often speaking clearly of times and events from the past and present. His final words though, were the clearest of them all and was currently the source of the great Astrid Hofferson's tears.

AVAVAVAVA

 _The face that peered up at the ceiling was one that was almost foreign to her, familiarity coming solely from the beard splayed across his body, more white than red but familiar all the same. The companionable silence that had fallen over the two of them was one that Astrid had grown accustomed too when in the presence of the dying man and thus was thoroughly startled when his booming voice shattered whatever had been through her mind at the time._

" _I wonder if he forgave me before he died," the chief mused more to himself than the woman he shared the room with. There was no need to question who he was referring to. It was his one regret, his son. She contemplated her answer for a moment, wanting to give the man her honest opinion._

" _I think he did, he had to." She said with confidence, thinking the conversation to be over._

" _I wouldn't have." The admission once again startled her. He must have noticed as he decided it would be best to explain himself. "If my father had treated me like I treated him, I would've brained him with an axe by the time I was married, but he put up with me for so long. I have thought long and hard about his escape, sometimes I believe too long and hard, I wasn't made for thinking you know," the feeble attempt at a joke not even eliciting a smile from the ever serious shieldmaiden. He cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing. "I know all of the reasons for his departure, and I'll be blunt, I know you were one of them." Astrid seized up in fear but did nothing to correct him, it would do no service to him to lie. She waited for him to continue. "I hated you for it, but I suppose it wasn't your fault. You were just a child and things happen, that I know, but I still hated you. You were our best warrior so I kept my peace, but it was still there." Silence once again descended as he let Astrid once again ponder his words._

 _She, for one, was shell-shocked. She had always kept her involvement in the entire event to herself for fear of vengeful prosecution, and to know that her shield bearer had known all along was terrifying. A thousand possibilities ran through her head as to why he had said this. She was about to take her leave to think, standing up and turning to the door before his words once again stopped her. "I have forgiven you." She almost couldn't believe she had heard that right. "Wh-what?" her voice shivering with raw emotion._

 _She turned around again to find his piercing gaze tearing through her making her shrink into herself. "He forgave you too, this I know." Astrid opens her mouth to retort, years of guilt threatening to pour over but he stopped her, determined to finish. "I hope that he forgave me too. I hope to see him in Valhalla." He closed his eyes and soon slept, never letting Astrid voice her concerns._

 _The next day, he was dead._

AVAVAVAVA

No one dared make a move to disturb the peace of beautity of the ceremony, looking for their leader to make the first move, and so, with a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes, she turned back towards Berk, leading the procession of mourners back to their lives, failing to notice the strange ship in the distance, thus, no one saw the symbol of the outcast flapping in the wind.

AVAVAVAVA

 **That was the next chapter giving a bit of insight into life on Berk as it stands right now. Hope you liked it. Don't be afraid to leave criticism. As long as it is constructive I enjoy it. See you all next time. NoOne.**


	3. Masyaf

**Salutations all once again, NoOne here with another chapter. Sorry about the extended wait time, but I have been busy with work and summer college classes, but I finished it. We are back to Hiccup's perspective once again, exploring his unfamiliar world in any assassins creed fans wondering about canon, this is set about 15 years after the first game. I have added a new crusade and templar power for plot purposes for whom it may concern. With that cleared up, let us continue. See you at the end.**

Whoever says that revenge isn't worth it has obviously never gotten it, Hiccup felt great. Better than he had in the past two years in fact. His bloodlust was finally satisfied and he walked around the Masyaf temple with his head held high instead of the sulking figure commonly found before. There was just one problem, he was bored.

Yeah flying toothless, training and celebrating with his brethren was entertaining and all, but he had no purpose. The past seven years of his life had been occupied with watching, planning, and executing the deaths of those who had wronged him, going to lands the living would never know existed.

During his travels he had seen atrocities that even now haunt his every waking moment and wonders of nature that only the gods themselves could have thought 'd even met some gods before, so most would think that Hiccup had done enough for a lifetime, but no. So he had been looking for anything to do for some time now. It was made even worse by the fact that everyone else was constantly going out for some mission or another, so it was understandable that he was a bit anxious. Then, he was called in to talk to Altair.

Very few in the order were closer to the master assassin than Hiccup, excluding his family. Altair was the one who brought Hiccup in in the first place and had offered to train him, but even he became anxious when personally summoned to Altair's personal chambers. Very few received assignments directly from him anymore and, if they did, their assignments were of vital importance and extremely dangerous, ones you could not fail.

The hallways leading to the library were bustling with people, scurrying about with an air of urgency that had not been shown in years, and definitely hadn't been shown since Hiccup's arrival. All of the assassins, scouts, and messengers moved with a purpose, never exchanging a word beside the occasional hasty greeting towards Hiccup. The silence of bustling feet did nothing to calm his nerves.

Hiccup paused briefly when he arrived at the massive doors that arrived at the well of the entirety of the knowledge of the assassin order. For as long as he had been there, this room had been a place of a sort of reverence for the young assassin, a temple where the only gods were the books that resided within. The few times he had been allowed into the massive chamber, not a sound had been heard, a silence so thick that his heartbeat echoed off of the walls, so imagine his surprise when he pulled open the doors to urgent orders and angry shouts.

Assassins of all rankings ran about, carrying armfuls of books and scrolls older than time itself, yellowed with age. A second after he opened the door, four novices practically trampled him on their way out, carrying a stack of books each taller than they were. The library was packed with people taking books off of the selves by the boatloads, at the head of it all stood the master himself, standing on a balcony overlooking the proceedings, silently conversing with the sort of council he had built up over the years.

Hiccup quickly made his way over to the ladder leading to the landing where Altair stood, dodging and weaving his way through the crowd. He scaled the ladder quickly and silently waited at the top for his mentor's attention, not wanting to interrupt or eavesdrop on the conversation. It took a few minutes of patient waiting before the man finally acknowledged his presence by ordering the other elder elsewhere on their own personal assignments.

Even after the others left, Hiccup waited to speak, preferring to let the older man go first. Altair took his time, heaving a huge sigh speaking volumes of his weariness. Even though he was going on in years, Altair was an impressive figure that could still outdo most of the other assassins, but now, you could see the years of leadership and hardship wearing down on him. Hiccup would almost say the man looked fragile, though never out loud. He'd never live to see the end of the day.

Altair spoke abruptly, a hint of despair tinting his voice. "The templars are growing in power you know, faster than we are." This surprised and worried Hiccup in Equal amounts."

"I was told by the other elders that we were winning the war against them," Hiccup countered.

Altair sighed once again. "In time I have surrounded myself with self-righteous fools. They believe everything they have told you refusing the facts I have laid before them. They have grown evident in the years of peace." Hiccup felt that it would not be wise to point out that the rest of the temple already believed this and held his peace, gesturing for Altair to continue. "You have seen their influence during your last venture to Italia, a influence that we now believe to cover the majority of Europa, penetrating even the courts of Richard in England." Hiccup's eyes grew exponentially at this. Altair observed this and continued. "They have planned another crusade, pulled all the able bodied men they could and have decided to march one last time into our territory to try to gain control in this area as well. They arrive in two days."

Silence stretched for a second, the implications of this proclamation settling into Hiccup's tactical mind. After a moment, he spoke. "You don't think that the temple will survive the assault do you, that's why you are emptying the library." Altair grimaced and sighed.

"The army that marches towards us is too large and our new recruits are too inexperienced to help take on an entire army. We will hold for as long as possible, but we will have to fall back. The Apple has foretold it. Many lives will be lost and so will the temple but, if we fight, we will give the ones sent ahead to save almost the entirety of the library."

The news shocks Hiccup, almost to the point of mental collapse. He takes a second to run over the information a second time to absorb it all before speaking again. "Where do you want Toothless and I."

"You will not be here when the army arrives."

This leaves Hiccup genuinely confused. "Why not master. Toothless and I can do insurmountable damage."

"If you stay you will die, I have seen it. This is not up for debate Hiccup, I'm too much of a sentimental old bastard to allow that. You will follow my orders. I want you to ride ahead to the assassin base in Egypt to tell them of our arrival so they may be prepared."

Hiccup might have argued if not for the horn sounding in the distance, the army had been sighted. Altair cursed silently "We were supposed to have more time. Go my friend, I will see you in due time. Go to Egypt and await further orders." Hiccup nodded and ran off to find toothless.

AVAVAVAVAVA

The army marched on the horizen, spreading from side to side like an impossible wall. Hiccup hovered above the tallest tower of the temple, observing the apparent doom of his home from afar. He turned Toothless and began to fly off into the distance. They had made it about half a day before the pair remembered that they hated following orders and proceeded to turn back towards Masyaf.

 **Hope you enjoyed. Any questions, comments or concerns in either a pm or review and I will reply with all due haste. Please leave contructive critisism if you have any. I love improving myself and all little bits help. See you next chapter.**


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